Tories back man who ‘gave Savile unrestricted access’ to hospital

Conservatives have given their backing to a senior councillor accused of giving his paedophile friend Jimmy Savile “unrestricted access” to secure areas of a hospital he was managing.

Welwyn Hatfield Council deputy leader Alan Franey, who ran Broadmoor Hospital during years of sickening abuse by Savile, survived a vote of no confidence last night thanks to support from Conservative colleagues.

An official NHS inquiry into abuse at Broadmoor found that Franey was appointed as the general manager of the secure hospital at the insistence of Savile, who was his friend and running partner. The report reveals details of the quasi-management role afforded the celebrity paedophile — dubbed “the godfather” by Franey — as well as allegations that Franey’s authority at the hospital was compromised by widespread rumours about his personal conduct.

Despite the damning verdict, Franey not only continues as deputy council leader but also oversees policing in Hertfordshireas a member of the county’s police and crime panel. Franey has strongly denied any wrongdoing, including a claim from another health executive that Franey stated Savile had “a liking for young girls, the younger the better”.

The case also threatens embarrassment to the local MP — Tory chairman Grant Shapps — who used the Savile case as a pretext to threaten the BBC’s license fee but has been silent regarding developments on his own doorstep.

Scrapbook is currently investigating rumours of an investigation by the NHS’ fraud unit into a suggested “irregular payment” made to a former Broadmoor employee threatening to make embarrassing revelations about the hospital.

3 comments on “Tories back man who ‘gave Savile unrestricted access’ to hospital”

HappyinHertssays:

Thank you for running this story. If the Council met last night they did it without any website publicity. The local paper has not reported on it. Googling Alan Franey’s name indicates several removed entries. The secrecy surrounding an accountable public figure is pretty shocking. I am grateful to you for pursuing the rumours of an investigation by the NHS fraud unit.